IT raids on K'taka Min. Shivakumar 'almost over'

The Income Tax (IT) raids have almost concluded at Energy Minister DK Shivakumar premises, ongoing since Wednesday.

The three day raid and surveys by the IT Department covered at least 64 properties of Energy Minister DK Shivakumar, sources state.

Out of the sixty premises, thirty nine premises were raided.

During the raids IT Department recovered 11.28 crore of cash, jewelry worth Rs. 4.5 crore from DK Shivakumar's premises.

The sources also say that several incriminating documents were said to be found and are suspected to undisclosed income generated out of different kind of manipulation.

Earlier on Wednesday IT officials raided Shivakumar's residence and at a private resort in Bengaluru where 42 Congress lawmakers from Gujarat are staying.

After the Congress branded the raids as a 'political witch-hunt' by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the IT department asserted that the raids at Karnataka Energy Minister's residence and resort had nothing to do with the Gujarat's Congress MLAs staying at the resort.

"The search under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act is an evidence gathering exercise which is being carried in compliance with all statutory requirements. The search is the continuation of an investigation which has been in progress for a considerable period of time," a press release by Directorate General of Income-tax (Investment), Bangalore said.

A press release claimed that the timing of the search was decided well in advance.

The events involving certain MLAs of another state being brought to Karnataka were unforeseen and unpredictable events.

Income Tax Department conducted searches at 39 locations related to Shivakumar.